Executive Flashcards
Executive branch
100 MPs take part in the government. These MPs develop policy and hope they become law. Usually 23-30 members of government are in important roles.
Executive branch is concerned with implementation of policy. All ministers taken from parliament are accountable to policy. PM is known as primus inter pare (first among equals).
Cabinet is a committee of senior ministers which is the ultimate decision making body of government. Ministers are appointed by the PM to specific policy areas.
Government departments are main administrators of central government dealing with policy area and staffed by civil servants.
Cabinet ministers lead government departments and meet weekly. The PM leads cabinet and all decisions have to be agreed by all members of cabinet. PM must consult cabinet before making decisions.
Powers of the executive
Prerogative powers - include making major treaties (John major with the Maastricht treaty), international diplomacy, deployment of armed forces (Thatcher in the falklands), PMs patronage powers and the ability to dissolve parliament (May before 2017 general election), the organisation of the civil service and granting of pardons.
However - this has been limited in recent years. It is now convention parliament votes on the deployment of troops (Cameron on Syria 2013 and 2015). 2011 fixed term parliament act meant there is no early election unless a 2/3 majority. The PM power to award honours and make public appointments have been restricted.
Control of legislative agenda - most bills are proposed by the government and it controls the legislative timetable. They can limit debate on bills with guillotine motions, most government bills are approved by parliament. PMBs only pass with government support.
Powers of secondary legislation - a form of legislation that allows the provision of an act of parliament to be amended by ministers without requiring a further act. These allow ministers to make more detailed rules and regulations through statutory instruments. Scrutinised by parliamentary committees but most are not debated and it is unusual for statutory instruments to be rejected. However the HoL amended two regulations on tax credits in 2015.
Role of the PM
Political leadership - determine the political direction of government and shape policy on high profile issues.
National leadership - responsible for national security and leadership at times of crisis, also acting as a communication for the government.
Appointing the government - appoint and dismiss ministers
Chairing cabinet - steering cabinet agenda and holding bilateral meetings
Managing the executive - responsible for overall organisation of government and is head of the civil service
Prerogative powers - deploying armed forces overseas and recommending public appointments
Managing relations with parliament - making statements and answering to parliament as well as shaping legislative programme
Representing uk in international affairs - high level international diplomacy
How powerful is the PM
Patronage
PM can appoint people to lords as life peers. Alter party balance in lords and make it easier for the pm to pass legislation and peers can be appointed in cabinet. Blair passed 162 labour peers and promoted Digby Jones from lords to cabinet. PM can create a cabinet in their own image by appointing and dismissing members and reshuffling them. Cameron reshuffled Greening from travel to international developments.
However - power is limited due to changes to the honour system after labour donors got peerages. Nominations considered by honours committee made of civil servants and independent personal. PM is unlikely to overrule people who rival their job and they cannot create a cabinet in their own image (Blair put Brown as chancellor of the exchequer). Cameron limited by coalition - he needed to consult clegg with Lib Dem members and have at least 5 in his cabinet. Dismissals backfire - thatcher removed Howe (foreign secretary) who gave a speech in the commons and she lost her job. Alastair Darling (chancellor of the exchequer) refused to move for ed Balls.
How powerful is the PM
Authority in cabinet and policy making input
Authority in cabinet - PM chairs meeting me and sets the agenda, frequency and length of cabinet meetings. They create cabinet committees and appoint members. PM can use bilateral meetings. They appoint senior civil servants and organise the structure of the government.
However - PM can be opposed by senior ministers who limited their power. Being too dominant (Thatcher) or too indecisive (Major) can limit the PM.
Policy making input - PM does not head a department so can be involved in all areas of policy. The PM particularly is involved in foreign and economic affairs often setting objectives to department heads. Some PMs involved more than others - Blair and Thatcher heavily involved.
However when things go wrong the PM is left to blame - Blair with Iraq and Thatcher with the poll tax.
How powerful is the PM
Party leadership
Public leadership - leader of largest party is usually the PM. A working majority in Parliament strengthens their position as they can enact government programme. Length and cost of a leadership election makes removal of PM likely.
However - increased backbench MPs power means the PM can not always rely on party support. For example the 2012 lords reform act was dropped due to a conservative backbench rebellion. Also PM can be removed if they lose a leadership election. Thatcher forced out of power after failing to win a leadership election in 1990.
How powerful is the PM
Public standing
PM has a high public profile. Thatcher and Blair made a significant impact on the world and had strong relations with the US. PM become the communication chief articulating objectives. Appearances in the Liaison committee is an expression of this role. Public satisfaction with the PM strengthens their position. A PM is regarded as strong and effective and has greater authority than one perceived as weak and out of touch.
However - media can play as significant role in this, coverage of a PM can undermine their powers as most PMs have a director of communications for example Alistair Campbell under Tony Blair.
Thatcher
She made little use of her cabinet. Favoured cabinet committees or bilateral meetings. Her approach to cabinet initially allowed her to cement her authority against those who doubted her.
However by 1990 he lack of support in the cabinet left Thatcher unable to win a leadership election, which led to her resignation. She was criticised by senior figures like Howe and Lawson
Major
Collegiate style of cabinet. He managed his cabinet successfully and managed to stay in office for 6 years despite shaky support. He worked closely with rivals (like Portillo), lessening the chances of leadership challenges.
However he never seemed to articulate a clear vision and he was unable to set the agenda in cabinet.
Blair
He was similar to thatcher in terms of controlling cabinet and he used a lot of bilateral meetings. Blair’s dominant role and use of advisors meant they had one way conservations with ministers who may not even have a say on policy matters. The sun concluded Blair saw cabinet as a reporting buoy. Decisions were made in his 10 Downing Street office. He had a sofa government.
Brown
Promised to have a more collegiate style of government, he alter reverted to an inner circle of advisors. However after a strong start he was constrained by the economic crisis and he ruled out on early election in 2007 after allowing speculation to mount. He faced demands from senior MPs to resign and his reputation was damaged. Lack of authority, Alistair Darling refuses to be reshuffled and Caroline Flint accused him of having a two tier cabinet.
Cameron
Originally had a collegiate style of cabinet but due to the coalition he needed Lib Dem support.
Hey decisions made in bilateral meetings between clegg and Cameron. Meetings with the quad (Cameron, clegg, Osborne and Alexander).
Cameron’s second government cabinet was in decline. Coalition constrained Cameron’s power - he needed to consult clegg with Lib Dem ministers and have at least 5 in cabinet. Party management was problematic with rebellions in lords reform and EU referendum. Duncan Smith resigned in 2016 claiming cabinet had no input
May
Appointed a balanced cabinet
However he caused a lack of unified cabinet and media has criticised the cabinet
Role of cabinet
They consider major decisions even if policy was created elsewhere. They endorse and approve government policy. They manage crises and emergences. They control the PM and radical ministers and they set government agenda for parliament.
Registering decisions
Many issues decided in cabinet committees or in bilateral meetings. For example the introduction of the Poll tax was decided in a cabinet committee. It means cabinet becomes a clearing house where decisions are ratified. Ministers are strongly discouraged from reopening issues where a decision had already been made. Cabinets ability to decide policy is constrained by infrequent meetings and bilateral meetings
